This is my first posting since the spring, when the unknown of my internship at Dun & Bradstreet beckoned me to beautiful New Jersey for a summer of HR strategy-related fun. Honestly, "beckoned" seems a bit of a romantic overstatement, as I now admit that my expectations going in were cloudy and less than superlative. But wow! I enjoyed my internship more than I ever could have expected -- great people, great program, great supervisor...
Now, back for my ultimate year at The Johnson School, I'm beginning to understand that second-year swagger that kinda annoyed me about last year's graduating class. How could one year make such a difference, I wondered? In the midst of first-year marketing math, accounting, and econ madness, I wondered how the class of 2008 could saunter into Sage Hall after I'd already been on campus for upwards of three and a half weeks -- slogging through Math Camp, Strategic Thinking Programs, two weeks of orientation, and a thousand other forms of cruel and unusual punishment (or so it seemed at the time) -- and seem so relaxed. I think it's because the feeling of being back in the working world for a summer and not falling flat has a certain mellowing effect. Also, many of us return with an offer in hand, and the promise of gainful employment at graduation already fulfilled. It's probably a combination of the above, along with a host of other elements. But there's definitely a difference -- a little more spring in my step -- and I'm thankful for it.
My theme for the year is "don't reinvent the wheel." Last year at this time, I barely knew how to get to the grocery store, which dry cleaner could turn around a suit with little notice, and what blend of Gimme Coffee would get me going in a pinch. Now, all of those little things are settled -- Wegmans on Rt. 13, Wyllie Dry Cleaning on W. Seneca St., and Mocha Java (and an occasional French Roast). The bigger things -- like knowing who to mountain bike with, how to make time for my lady when school stresses are piling up, and which classes will make me smarter and which will make me crazy -- are all the result of an incredibly transformative year of experience at Johnson, and at D&B.
All in all, it's good to be back, and I look forward to continuing to share my experiences with my blog readers this year. Feel free to submit comments, or to shoot me an email at jng28@cornell.edu with any questions or tirades about anything contained herein, or anything else that may strike your fancy. My goal is to give an honest look at life at The Johnson School and in Ithaca, and I'd love to know how I'm doing.
